Woman who lost leg in crash wins £4m from insurers

A WOMAN who sued her husband’s insurers after losing part of her leg in a motorway crash has won £4million in damages at the High Court.

Malcolm Carpenter was driving at the time of the crash on the M5 in October 2013, in which his wife, Charlotte Swift, 43, was seriously injured.

Liability was admitted but Mrs Justice Lambert was asked to decide the amount of compensation.

Mrs Swift, who works in travel journalism and marketing, originally valued her claim at just over £7million, while insurers put it at just under £2million.

Yesterday in London, the judge said that, before the accident, work, sport and travel were all equally important to “dynamic and ambitious” Mrs Swift, who lives with Mr Carpenter and their two-year-old son in west London.

Her lifestyle was of “an energetic woman who had been living her life to the full”.

Mrs Swift’s intention was to reclaim as much of that busy life as she could, said the judge.

After suffering crushing injuries to both feet and lower legs, Ms Swift underwent a left leg below-knee amputation. Her right foot, although salvaged, was also badly damaged.